The Weekly Nectar- April 29, 2021
The Weekly Nectar- April 29, 2021
Can I get some funding? Yes, yes you can.
Before we dive in, are you ready to pitch? I’m talking about your amazing idea- the one you’ve been thinking about and working on and obsessing over.
It’s time, my friend. StartMadness is upon us, and it’s the perfect chance to win some money and get exposure to big names in funding. This year StartMadness has partnered with Pelion Venture Partners, contributing $250k to the winning team, and Founder’s Hub, a platform designed to help Utah’s entrepreneurs build the community, connection, and confidence to help all of us rise up together. Sign up right here, right now.
Now that you’ve signed up, here’s something to encourage you even more. In case you missed it last week, I’m circling back because it’s just that great. Data collected by Aumni and Cicero showed some really amazing funding happening in Utah last year. You can see the whole infographic here, but I’d like to point out a few things:
Utah saw $377 MILLION in early stage funding in 2020. Yes that’s MILLION in all caps and I don’t mean to shout, but it’s incredible. In a year that saw huge upset in so many industries, the funding was still there, and it was flowing into Utah’s early stage businesses.
That number is in addition to $7 million in Pre-seed, $61 million in Seed, and $310 in Series A funding. In ADDITION! Caps and exclamation points not used lightly here.
Utah raised more Series A funding than Colorado, and we’re only slightly behind California- two major players in the funding game.
This is all to say: Utah is a funding hotbed, so get to business.
Here’s some news in the hive:
The gift of Gabb
Gabb Wireless, maker of the ultra safe, kid-friendly phone, announced a $14 million Series A led by Sandlot Partners and New Orleans Saints quarterback, Taysom Hill. This comes after a year of 471% growth, with plans to improve customer experience and expand product lines.
Fiddle around with greatness
Fiddle Inc. announced a successful $600K seed round with Red Giant Ventures, Brandless LLC, and Jeff Burningham. Fiddle provides a cloud based software solution to get businesses organized and help them get products to market quickly and efficiently.
Where’s the beef? Not here.
As the meat-free market grows, so does the need for alternative protein startups. According to research conducted by Boston Consulting Group and Blue Horizon Corp, the market for faux-meat products is predicted to reach at least $290 billion by 2035. Pass the tofurkey and get me some lentils.
Have you registered for StartFEST? Maybe if you comment we’ll do a giveaway. Just throwing it out there. Get more info about StartFEST here.
That’s it for this week. We’re happier than a vegan telling you they’re vegan. Do you have some startup news you’d like to share? Did your cousin start a new business doing dog mani’s? We want to hear about it. Email us at emily@beehivestartups.com or hello@beehivestartups.com